Article printed from SiteProNews: http://www.sitepronews.com
  HTML version available at: http://www.sitepronews.com/archives.html

Is Google No. 1 Forever? 
By Jim Hedger, StepForth News Editor, StepForth Placement Inc. (c) 2006

Google is without a doubt the world's number one search engine.
According to the research firm Neilsen/NetRatings, Google's
share of the global search market in February 2006 was 48.5%,
more than double the 22.5% share its nearest rival Yahoo saw.
Having been the engine of choice for nearly five years, Google
is synonymous with search. Because Google is the first thing
most folks think of when they think about search, it is the most
important search marketing venue, at least for the vast majority
of SEOs.

That might be changing in the coming years. There's a sense in
the SEO sector that the horizons have expanded significantly and
the search marketing map has gotten far larger. What the new
landscape will look like exactly, and how large Google's
footprint will be, is still unknown. The emerging online
environment is still being explored, so to speak. As it is
explored, it is evolving very quickly. In many ways, it feels
like the early days of the commercial web where everyone knew
that everything was about to change, but no one really knew
exactly how.

While Google's influence is incredible and its dominance appears
unassailable, a number of newer products and changes in public
perceptions have prompted subtle shifts in the habits of
Internet users. Search marketers and online advertisers have
started taking notice, putting more energy into helping clients
understand and use tools such as blogs, images, press releases
and video content as marketing devices.

The evolution of the Internet, in regards to search depends a
lot on four unique groups; users, online marketers, search
engine developers, and creative web developers. How each group
reacts to these new user/marketing channels in the coming months
and years will determine if Google's dominance is threatened. As
it stands today, Google remains synonymous with search, however,
users are starting to venture away from the Google brand, even
if it is the most recognizable one in their minds.

A recent survey conducted by UK-based online marketing firm,
Harvest Digital (http://www.harvestdigital.com/fact_sheets.cfm)
(reg. req.), shows that Google is almost universally recognized
as the UK's leading search engine. (When thinking about North
American search engine usage, similar results are assumed to be
a somewhat safe assumption.)

When asked, "What search engine do you use?" 94% of respondents
said Google. 40% said they used Yahoo, 39% said Ask Jeeves and
37% said MSN.

The answer clearly shows that Google is the first thing
consumers think of when asked about search but it also shows
that most search engine users are looking at more sources when
looking for information. It also confirms that Ask continues to
enjoy high popularity in the UK, even after dropping ex-pat
butler Jeeves. Of the 205-person test group, only 24% said they
only used one search engine with 56% using two or three search
engines.

A large group of search engine users express less than stellar
expectations from their experience with search engines. There
appears to be a growing dissatisfaction among UK search engine
users with only 22% of the survey group stating they felt "...
confident that search engines would always give them the
information that they needed." More often than not, users blamed
themselves when searches produced less than useful results. 36%
assumed they were using the wrong keywords. 32% figured the
information they were looking for was too specialized. These
statements should be noted by SEOs when thinking of creative
keyword targets along with alternative search venues such as
vertical and local search.

Interestingly, nearly a quarter of respondents said that
advertisers paying for higher position are responsible. 24%
agreed with the statement, "Advertisers are paying to come top
of the results", is the reason "... some searches are less
successful". While the survey draws the conclusion that this is
a paid-search issue, it is unclear if respondents are noting PPC
ads or well-optimized sites dominating organic results.

When choosing results to click on, 60% said it is because that
result appeared on the first page with 17% tending towards the
top results. 32% stated the description as an important factor
when choosing which search results might best match their needs.
Again, 78% of them will express some sense of dissatisfaction
with the results.

Ultimately, the survey tells search marketers and their
advertisers to spread their focuses to see the much wider
horizon. Almost one third of respondents stated their search
queries are too specialized to produce successful results. This
suggests there is a lot of room for adoption of more targeted
search tools such as the vertical search sector and local search
engines.

Google is working to cover the vertical bases with its
all-in-one solution, Google Base. Several search marketing
forums have noted the appearance of Google Base results in
searches conducted around the travel, home sales, and automotive
industries. It is assumed by many SEOs that Google is trying to
see if it can take a share of the market from popular
advertising boards like Craigslist and e-commerce facilitators
such as eBay.

Yahoo and Google continue to compete against each other and
smaller firms such as A9, Ask, and even AOL, in the race to
perfect a local search model. As Internet access is integrated
in smaller portable devices, local search is seen as one of the
greatest growth areas for search marketing.

Other search firms are moving to explore the expansive web as
well. Last month, Lycos announced it was introducing a number of
self-publishing and distribution options for content creators.
It recently entered the VOIP market with Lycos Phone and today
announced the release of a desktop Blog editing tool,
Lycos-Qumana.

Google has another problem on its plate in regards to user
loyalty. Its footprint has grown large enough that at times, it
sort of steps on people's expectations in the course of its
operations, as is the case with Google's relationship with the
Chinese Government. While the other major search engines are
active players in the Chinese market, and actively make
values-based compromises their Western users might find
unacceptable, Google tends to attract the majority of user
outrage. That's likely because users have come to expect Google
to hold itself to a higher standard, one that goes beyond
compromising fair search results. A minor migration from Google
happens every time the tech-press cracks a shot across Google's
bow.

As Internet usage increases, and the online environment evolves
through growth, search engine users are being offered more
options while becoming more educated about the medium. Social
networks (which enjoy enormous traffic) such as MySpace have
search features that users turn to when logged in to the
network.

The goal of online marketers is to drive traffic to client
websites or documents. For search marketers, the expanding
horizons can bring a bounty of business. Today, the reality is
that Google is the most difficult engine to achieve a high
ranking on, but it is also the most effective search marketing
venue. Google is the most popular search engine and continues to
drive the most traffic.

We expect that fact to remain the same but, at the same time, we
are strongly advising our clients to think about other search
marketing channels. The habits of Internet users are changing as
the incredible growth of MySpace demonstrates. There is a lot of
new search marketing turf out there and it is time to work
towards establishing a presence there.
================================================================
Jim Hedger is a writer, speaker and search engine marketing
expert based in Victoria BC. Jim writes and edits full-time for
StepForth and is also an editor for the Internet Search Engine
Database. He has worked as an SEO for over 5 years and welcomes
the opportunity to share his experience through interviews,
articles and speaking engagements.  He can be reached at
"jimhedger@stepforth.com"
================================================================

Copyright © 2006 Jayde Online, Inc.  All Rights Reserved.

SiteProNews is a registered service mark of Jayde Online, Inc.